1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a conductor strip used for making an electrical connection between a printed circuit and a battery. It also relates to a connecting arrangement of such a conductor strip and a circuit board.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently portable electronic devices including notebook computers, cell phones, etc., have been widely used because of their handiness. For enabling outside use, the cell phone for example operates on a rechargeable battery housed in a battery pack together with other necessary components. The battery pack, readily detachable for exchange of the battery, includes a battery cell and a protection unit connected to the cell for preventing the cell from over-discharging or being overcharged.
FIG. 16 shows some aspects of a conventional protection unit U0 of the above type. As illustrated, the conventional unit U0, used for a rechargeable battery cell 100, includes a printed circuit board 200, electronic components 300 mounted on the board 200, and two conductor strips 400 connected to the battery cell 100. Each of the conductor strips 400 includes a rectangular connecting portion 400a and another rectangular connecting portion 400b. The first connecting portion 400a is soldered to a pad (not shown) provided on the board 200, while the second connecting portion 400b is welded to the cathode or anode (not shown) of the cell 100. The conductor strip 400 is bent so that the second connecting portion 400b is perpendicular to the first connecting portion 400a. 
While the conventional conductor strip 400 has a simple configuration and thus can be made easily, it entails the following drawbacks.
As seen from FIG. 16, the first connecting portion 400a of the conventional strip 400 does not have any holes or gaps in it. Thus, it is impossible to observe the bonding condition of the solder after the applied solder hardens between the connecting portion 400a and the board 200. Another problem is that the conductor strip 400 is detached from the board 200 rather easily, due to its simple structure, upon exertion of an upward force on the second portion 400b. 